Gardeners Tips

Verbascum or Mulliens can be annuals, perennials or shrubs and these are some of my favourite yellow flowering varieties.

Not unlike its cousin Verbascum Banana Custard and others in the family this particular plant, Verbascum austriacum, is popular in Central Europe.

I liked the  red centre to the flower and the branching habit.

Verbascums australis can grow over 6′ tall and I like the spires in the back of my garden border.

These Verbascum seed quite freely and you will be able to scrounge a plant from any friend who grows them.

Verbascum letitia grown in a well lit alpine house.

Verbascum’Letitia’ AGM is a small bushy, evergreen shrub that grows 12″ high. , with hairy grey, oblong leaves and abundant purple-centred, bright yellow flowers

Grow your epiphytes suspended in a basket. Orchids grow on other plants including bark, moss and trees. Remember to keep the humid as such roots can die of thirst.

Stanhopea Orchids

• There are at least 65 species of Stanhopea plus various hybrids of these fantastic orchids.
• They originate from South and Central America notably Guatamala and Panama.
• Stanhopea are amongst the most showy yet spectacularly orchids.
• The flowers are large, fragrant and develop out the bottom of the basket they are grown in.

Stranhopea occulata shown above has a wild appearance and a powerful fragrance.
Dark spots that look like eyes give it the name oculata.
Spikes bloom downward, so they are best grown in open baskets lined with moss.
Flowers last just a few days, but they can grow into large specimens with multiple spikes, then blooming in succession.

Stanhopea wardii has unusual large, waxy, golden-yellow pendant blooms with a spicy fragrance.
Best for hanging in open-weave baskets to allow the spike to emerge below the plant.
The Orchid should bloom several times during summer.
Their native habitat ranges from Mexico to Panama.

‘Stanhopea, Stanhopea Embreei, Stanhopea Oculata, Stanhopea Tricornis, Stanhopea Martiana, Stanhopea Hernandezii, Stanh’ by Book Llc is one of several specialist books about these interesting plants.

Pick your own favourite from the variety of cone flowers available.

Echinacea purpurea is commonly called the Cone Flower. There are other Echinacea varieties that will put on a long lasting and colourful display in your garden. The daisy like flower heads are attractive to insects and butterflies and are available is several warm colours.
Echinacea make good cut flowers for the house.

Echinacea Varieties

1. Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’ looks the colour of one of the eponymous Heinz 57 varieties. The hardy plant grows 2-3′ tall and the flowerheads can be 5-6″ across. Flowering from mid-summer they appear on the top of branching stems.
2. Echinacea Tiki Torch grows 3′ tall and has flowers with orange petals in a ray around a prominent orange-red disc. Slightl;y scented the flowers last well and make another addition to a hot border.
3. Echinacea Mac ‘n’ Cheese has golden yellow flowerheads from mid-summer until the first frosts if deadheaded regularly.
4. Echinacea Pink Double Delight is a new coneflower that has the same large fully double and tufted pink flowers as Razzmatazz, but greater resistance to powdery mildew and sturdier foliage than its predecessor

Seeds of several varieties and cultivars are available from Thompson & Morgan

The 9 distinctive species of Echinacea
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